Currently I have a Mid 2011 Mac Mini being used as a dust collector. I have enough other computers around that I don't need to use it for anything and it's not worth enough money to bother selling.
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What are you still using an Intel Mac for?
- Thread starter Yebubbleman
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Yeah, I considered bootcamp vs parallels when I set this machine up in 2020. Very glad that I went with parallels. I don't think the performance hit is all that great and regardless, the integration with MacOS is worth it. I did as you suggest with my 2008 MBP long ago. Parallels was not very stable for me back then and I got tired of the bugs and crashes, so I used bootcamp (running Windows XP at the time). But I was pleasantly surprised by how fast and stable parallels was on the 2018 Mini, so not looking to change anything for now.
I'm not I sold it. after years of reliable service, I ended up forgetting it on a trip where I needed a laptop, so I ordered my M1 MBP (very happy with it, BTW). When I got back, I had to replace the battery (lasted far longer than I imagined) but I no longer needed it, so I sold it to my daughter's husband for the price of the battery replacement (friends and family discount). He is still using it as his main computer and has had absolutely no issues. It gets hot (Intel inside), so he has it on a cooling stand. Of course it is gradually not being able to support the latest OS features, but it is fast and reliable (and the price was right)
I run Linux on a 2014 mini running as a pi-hole server at home. It’s fast, quiet, and sips power.
Virtual Machines, I've slowly begun the transition to running my Windows VM's on a Synology. Mac OS VM's on Apple Silicon are still neutered and I'm running those on my 2018 Mac Mini.
Well, I think most, if not all, of what I do on my Intel Mac (6,1 Mac Pro) can indeed be done on a Silicon Mac, which begs the question, what can be done on an Apple Silicon Mac that cannot be done on an Intel Mac? We all have different needs, but for Music my trash can is still a more than a decent computer, and for my wallet too.
I can run the latest OS's thanks to OCLP, I know there are a few features that won't be present as we go forward but so far I don't need them, I don't really care for Apple Intelligence at the moment. I will make the switch at some point it's not even a question, but right now I don't need to.
Neat, how did they get non-ARM Windows running on AS?
I am writing this on my iMac Pro (18 core, 128GB RAM, 2TB). I will need to stick with this machine for another few years since I am depending on Intel MKL. I just hope it lives that long...
I mainly use an iPad but I still use a couple of Intel Macs for a couple things I can’t do on an iPad. The first thing is managing my ripped CD collection in iTunes. I could do that on an Apple Silicon Mac though. The second thing is managing my photos in a perpetual license version of Lightroom. I could do this on an Apple Silicon Mac but I’d have to start paying for Lightroom and I’d have to buy a new scanner.
I have 2019 Mac Pro. I was worried Apple Silicon transition would be rocky, so wanted a machine that can fill-in the gap until Silicon can match the performance from x86 equivalents. Also with some gaming on the side, I just went for it.
For now though, I'm not sure where to put Apple Silicon Mac Studio and Mac Pro. I heard great things about it, but if only Apple Silicon Mac Pro supported dGPU. I'm still curious about it how its performance goes, both CPU and GPU, compared to what Intel Mac Pro can do.
For now though, I'm not sure where to put Apple Silicon Mac Studio and Mac Pro. I heard great things about it, but if only Apple Silicon Mac Pro supported dGPU. I'm still curious about it how its performance goes, both CPU and GPU, compared to what Intel Mac Pro can do.
That was my way on a 2009 iMac 27” with i7 2.8ghz and 32GB RAM. Windows was in a boot camp partition and VMWare / Virtualbox were used to access Windows most of the time, while rebooting into proper windows when the VM didn’t cut it.
It was handy to use the same windows instance both ways.
I have an Intel iMac that is highly speced out. I would could make the transition to the 24" and be fine with it but it seems wasteful to get rid of that beautiful 27" 5k screen.
The future is Apple Silicon so I will unfortunately have to replace it eventually. They are already limitations with M Series only apps and with the new macOS updates it's only a matter of time. (I hate the external power brick on the new iMac's, Apple should have made the new one slightly thicker to accommodate for it internally).
I've considered making it a Windows only machine but I would want to run 11, not 10 and as great as the processor and graphics are to me, I would want more out of a dedicated Windows machine than what it can offer.
The future is Apple Silicon so I will unfortunately have to replace it eventually. They are already limitations with M Series only apps and with the new macOS updates it's only a matter of time. (I hate the external power brick on the new iMac's, Apple should have made the new one slightly thicker to accommodate for it internally).
I've considered making it a Windows only machine but I would want to run 11, not 10 and as great as the processor and graphics are to me, I would want more out of a dedicated Windows machine than what it can offer.
I’m running 11 on bootcamp. It’s an even more convoluted dystopian mess than 10 but it does seem to run resource heavy apps better. Still not as nice as 7 was though, which runs so light & fast I leave that in a VM when on the Mac side, so If I need win access quickly I don’t have to fully reboot. We’ve got an OEM purchase for 11 up to what was it 200 seats of which were using about 30, but the installs that go on Macs use the non-TPM installer courtesy of a few teenage hackers.
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27" iMac that does all of the wife's computing needs; office-type stuff, genealogy, what-not. I doubt that there's anything she does that an Apple Silicon iMac can't do, and she could probably live with the smaller screen; but the existing computer works perfectly well and we certainly aren't going to replace it just to have a newer machine.
Because of the glowing apple logo!
cycling is the only sport i watch with a smile on my face and know who Elisa Balsamo is.
i just finished a 26 mile ride now on Jamis framseet with latest Shimano Claris grupo.
except for the 52-42 175mm tapered sunotur crankset from 1989.
Don't get me started. It is the only machine that I have that will run a Parallels windows VM created 8 years ago. You can't upgrade windows from Intel to ARM. I still have legacy stuff left to move. What a pain.
I am running a Space Grey Mac Mini 2018 hooked up to an Apple LED Cinema Display 2012.
With 32GB of RAM it runs everything I need.
3D Rhino, DXO PhotoLab, Photoshop and Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects… (And all the other stuff like Pages and Numbers of course.)
It even acts as an entertainment system hooked up to my stand alone speakers with Spotify and streaming
Right now there is no reason to ditch it. It runs smoothly and quietly… I am sure an Apple Silicon Mac will beat the blazes out of it, but as I don't sit here and compre them I don't know and I don't care. 🙂
One day, sure, I will upgrade. But that day is (hopefully) not here yet.
When I was a much younger man I also chased all the shiny new things all the time.
Now after 6 decades, I realise so much of that is futile.
Bootcamp.
The other thing I realized is, I spend a lot of time getting my systems dialed in exactly how I like them in terms of what’s installed, which preferences are which way, which keyboard shortcuts and just exactly how everything works and I do not like screwing with that
Changing machines ends up being something I don’t really settle in with for well over a couple months
I went from a couple decades of racing to watching only, as the hostile & inattentive driving + lack of penalties for killing people (as long as you use a car to do it) has led to such a high death rate that riding a bike or taking a walk in the country has become a deathwish over the last couple decades. I asked my local shop a few years back for the tip on the best open training rides in the area and their reaction was “No one’s done that since the nineties, it’s way too dangerous.” I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen anyone doing it.
Thankfully Cyclingtorrents.nl exists, and though it takes a little to get up & running, brings coverage of cycling events to the US.
I use a 2012 Macbook Pro for its firewire port. need it to be able to connect and use a PhaseOne Light Phase back for the Hasselblad 500